Vista is evil !

Howard Tate · From: Leesville, Louisiana, USA, R.I.P.

I have a new HP, AMD Phantom x4, Vista 64,4 gigs of ram. I hate it! I can no longer listen to steel radio because I can't install Winamp or realplayer. There are several things I can no longer do but the worst is the problems with this forum. Sometimes when I open it the sections are marked as unread, and sometimes some of the threads, but never all of them. Sometimes while reading the forum I have to log in, even though I was already logged in. I usually cannot post because it says I'm not logged in. These are things I can live with but are very annoying. I have lowered my security settings and cleared the cookies. I'm thinking of trying to downgrade to XP. Is that really a major hassle?

John Floyd · From: R.I.P.

Howard
Do you have all of your Vista Updates installed? If You don't I would suggest you get all of them installed up to and Including SP1.

Jack Stoner probably has more experience than anyone here with Vista. He probably has an answer for you.
John

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Howard:

Some of your problems with program installation may be due to having Vista 64 rather than Vista 32. Applications with a 16-bit installer are not going to install on Vista 64, even if they would run fine if you could get them installed. I found out that my version of Photoshop won't install on a 64 bit system. You would have to research on your own whether the programs in question are balking due to 16 bit installers or for some other reason.

Were you forced into 64? Could you go to Vista 32 if you wanted to?

Are you using Internet Explorer or Firefox or?

I am not a Vista fan either, but I haven't had any significant log in issues with Internet Explorer or Firefox.

If you have a copy of XP, you might be able to install it, but I'm not sure how long Microsoft is going to support it. Ultimately, you will be left behind.

Windows 7 will be released October 22 and by all accounts is preferable to Vista. The upgrade packages will include both 32 bit and 64 bit versions. I will be more than happy to get rid of Vista.

If you just got the HP, you may have also received a free upgrade to Windows 7, through a coupon or something like that.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

According to the Winamp forum, it works and installs OK on Vista 64 bit.

Vista 64 bit will install non-64 bit programs in a separate Programs folder.

I'm not where I can run Vista 64 bit to see what is happening, but I haven't seen any posts on the Dell users forum of problems with Winamp and Vista 64 bit.

There may be a way to get RealPlayer working in 64 bit (It has problems with XP64 bit too). Do a google search.

What indications or error messages are you getting?

Howard Tate · From: Leesville, Louisiana, USA, R.I.P.

With Winamp I got a message that it could not finish installing, not sure why. Realplayer looks like it installed but does'nt work. Vista was on the machine when I bought it from Office Depot. The issues with the forum are most frustrating.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I'm not where I can test the WinAmp with Vista 64 bit as I'm traveling.

The forum problems? If you clear the cookies you lose the forum automatic logon.

I haven't had any problems with Vista 64 and the forum. A friend, Don Sulesky has a new HP desktop with Vista 64 that I installed for him last year and he is not having any forum problems.

I don't know if you can downgrade to XP or not. Many new PC's do not have hardware device drivers for XP and if that is the case with your PC you will have to stay with Vista. Check the HP downloads for your specific model. Keep in mind most new PC's come with a restore partition on the hard drive that will allow you to completely reinstall if needed and in many cases if you install some other OS that will also corrupt the restore partition (don't ask me how, just that it does corrupt it or it won't restore).

I also have Windows 7 RC1 64 bit installed on my Vista 64 PC and it too works with the forum without problems, using the default Internet Explorer 8 settings.

One suggestion is to use the System Restore function and restore the PC back to a date PRIOR to first attempting to install WinAmp. That will give you a clean "start" and you can try WinAmp again. System Restore is accessed from Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools. System Restore will not delete any user data or e-mails but any programs installed (or uninstalled) after the restore date will have to be reinstalled.

When you try to install WinAmp again. RIGHT click on the icon for the program and then LEFT click on Run As Administrator.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I'm not where I can test the WinAmp with Vista 64 bit as I'm traveling.

The forum problems? If you clear the cookies you lose the forum automatic logon.

I haven't had any problems with Vista 64 and the forum. A friend, Don Sulesky has a new HP desktop with Vista 64 that I installed for him last year and he is not having any forum problems.

I don't know if you can downgrade to XP or not. Many new PC's do not have hardware device drivers for XP and if that is the case with your PC you will have to stay with Vista. Check the HP downloads for your specific model. Keep in mind most new PC's come with a restore partition on the hard drive that will allow you to completely reinstall if needed and in many cases if you install some other OS that will also corrupt the restore partition (don't ask me how, just that it does corrupt it or it won't restore).

I also have Windows 7 RC1 64 bit installed on my Vista 64 PC and it too works with the forum without problems, using the default Internet Explorer 8 settings.

One suggestion is to use the System Restore function and restore the PC back to a date PRIOR to first attempting to install WinAmp. That will give you a clean "start" and you can try WinAmp again. System Restore is accessed from Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools. System Restore will not delete any user data or e-mails but any programs installed (or uninstalled) after the restore date will have to be reinstalled.

When you try to install WinAmp again. RIGHT click on the icon for the program and then LEFT click on Run As Administrator.

Wiz Feinberg · From: Mid-Michigan, USA

If you are trying to install an old version of WinAmp you may have to install it in XP Compatibility Mode. It's best to download the newest version of any software you want to install in Vista.

Follow Jack's recommendation to run as administrator when installing any software meant for more than one user account. It requires permission to write to the Local Machine section of the Registry, which limited accounts are prohibited from doing.
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John Floyd · From: R.I.P.

I have essentially the same set up as Howard and my computer found all the drivers for XP pro x32. I have two different op systems on two different hard drives. I have win 7 x64 installed on one and Win XP pro X32 on another. My Computer is a home build with a nVidia 780a chipset, Phenom II X4 Deneb 940 processor.

I have tried XP Pro X64 and I had problems with Finding Drivers for it and programs it would not run.Windows Live Mail For one.

I have had no such problems with Win 7 X64. I've had winamp installed and it worked, removed it because I just don't like Winamp. I've had problems with the forum, but I also had the same problems with Win XP Pro 32 bit. I run a registry cleaner periodically, Auslogics Registry Cleaner, which probably is the reason I have to log in from time to time.

I feel the 64 bit operating System is the way to go, its the way of the future and I also feel now is the time to get my feet wet with it. I'm sure a lot of people are thinking the same way and in the next couple of years, Win 7 X64 is going to be very popular. Just my opinion.
I agree with Wiz and Jack on their reccommendations.

I have "0" experience with Vista, I don't want any Laughing

I'M waiting on the release of Windows 7 X64 which I intend to make my operating System of Choice.
I agree with Mitch that Xp will become outdated, but I intend to run both till I become as familiar with Windows 7 as I am with Xp

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